As Long As You're There
by Baby.Capri.1990
Summary: -SEQUEL TO LOST THEN FOUND and NOT OVER YOU - A psychopath goes on a murder spree in Bodhum. The psychopath starts going after Light and her family when she gets too involved. Meanwhile, Fang comes back. And a certain person is targeted. Fang/Lightning, Serah/Snow. Image will be posted later.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: ** :O What's this! A surprise! XD Figured you guys wanted a sequel. With more Fang/Light than ever. More Serah/Lightning! And more Drake/Lightning/Family. And with a special twist that MIGHT keep you hooked. I'm hoping so. So here we go!

**A very special thanks to my lovely girlfriend. Love you, Sweetheart.**

As Long As You're There

Prologue

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**Unknown Place  
****Present Time  
****0145**

_'It felt like months - years even, since I last saw them. All of that was about to be taken away from me, just as it almost had before. I can't stop thinking that I'm never gonna see them again. I can't... I just can't. There was no hope. Nobody would find me here. Even I didn't know where I was. All I saw was darkness. All I felt was pain. Was I dying? I started to become lightheaded - the lack of food and water. I needed... to get out... now...'_

It was dark. Her head was covered and her eyes were weak. She could hear someone moving behind her. A knife went to her arm; whoever it was pushed harder and made a deep cut on her arm. She groaned in pain. She was numb, but she felt it. She couldn't feel anything else.

It was the only thing she could feel since…

Why was he doing this…? '_Please help me…_'

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**_18 Days Earlier  
_****Alleyway by the Markets  
****1130 Hours**

A little over a year passed since Fang left, and everything seemed normal. Fang had been too busy to come back to Bodhum, working on her new store and getting the store to what it should be. Vanille, Snow, and Serah hung out a lot at Lightning's home. Vanille and Lightning repaired their friendship, knowing the relationship between the ex lovers was now officially neutral.

The only thing that really changed within the year, most notably, was Lightning's overwhelming cases. She and Drake had been working together for over a year and the two have a… 'friendship'. They bantered at crime scenes, especially when there was a dead body (as gross as it may seem) and Drake ended up running to the nearest trash can to unload his stomach.

It was something Lightning had seen multiple times before, and she found it amusing. Doing the job for almost his whole career, and he still vomited during crime scenes. "Push through it, Drake," Lightning called out as she walked towards the dead body and the medical examiner. "Oh, Serah's making spaghetti later, wanna come by for dinner?"

"F-uuuuuuuck yoo-ah, Farron," Drake said as he heaved once again. Lightning chuckled softly and stopped next to the medical examiner. The ME was someone she trusted, and actually talked in 'non-medical' terms. She was simple and to the point.

"What's the C.O.D.?"

"Blunt force trauma to the head. He died approximately three hours ago. Rigor has set in. I'll have to take him to the station to know exactly how the victim died and match possible weapons."

"Alright. We'll check out around the area and look for clues," Lightning started walking towards a dumpster.

"Okay, Farron. I officially hate your…" As Drake looked at the body, he gagged.

"Guts? Yeah we see a lot of that."

"You're an asshole."

"You love it."

Drake and Lightning's relationship had grown over the last year. The ex-SWAT captain actually warmed up to him after Fang's departure. He and his family was part of HER family now. "Sometimes, I wonder."

"Let's just check out the scene and go home. I promised Serah I'd be back by five tonight."

"Roger that, Farron."

"And eat a box of tic-tacs. I can smell you from over here," Lightning said, walking away.

XXXXXXXX

**Medical Examiner's Office  
****1600 Hours**

They went to the Medical Examiner's office, just below the station in the basement. Drake hated that place. It reeked of death and decay. He swore the basement was haunted as well with all the dead bodies that pass through.

"Get over it, Drake. We've had a lot of deaths lately. You're going to be down here quite a bit…" Lightning casually said as she reached the ME's door. The door opened when she slid her keycard in and the two stepped in. "Found anything useful yet?"

"Actually, I have. I'm not going to put a guarantee on this but I think the weapon used was a wooden bat. Either way, he has splinters in his scalp. The shape of the wound on his head is consistent of a bat. His death was not quick though. He died slowly," The ME said as she took her gloves and apron off. She went over to Lightning and handed her the file.

Lightning looked over the file. "I'm going to go on a whim and just say it's a bat. It all kind of makes sense. Drake, did anyone find a bat at the scene?"

"No…" He was staring out the window, trying to concentrate on anything but the dead body or the smell. "Whoever it was probably took it with them…"

"That's a possibility. We figure out who this is yet?" Lightning asked, referring to the body on the table.

"Donovan Donohue. He's 32 years old. He has a wife and child in Palumpolum. He was transferred to Bodhum temporarily. He was supposed to work the mailroom in the precinct…"

"Great. So a cop killer?"

The case sounded too familiar. And she knew why. She worked it for months. Javier Begum. It was too consistent. Too familiar.

"I'm an idiot…" Lightning muttered, handing the ME the files.

"What do you mean?" Drake asked, turning to face Lightning.

"These are Begum's methods. He always killed his victims like this. Both men and women. Same causes of death, too. For men, it's either a bat to the back of the head; for women it's torture then dropped off at the docks," Lightning rubbed her temples. How could she have missed this?

"You don't honestly think it's him, do you? He's in jail, Detective…" The ME said slowly.

"Let's hope it's not him… It's late… I promised my sister dinner. You got it from here, Fisher?"

"Does that mean we can leave?" He asked, hopeful.

"Yes," Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Then yeah, I got it," He hurried out of the room. Lightning turned towards the ME.

"Thank you, Miranda. You really helped out."

"It's my job, Lightning. Stay safe, and take care. Go spend time with your sister… Etro knows you need it."

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**Serah and Snow's Apartment  
****1630 Hours**

Lightning stepped in through her sister's apartment and took in a deep breath, thankful to be out of the hot summer air. She kicked her shoes off. She heard her sisters voice coming from the kitchen. "Lightning, is that you?" She walked into the kitchen, and she placed the French bread on the table. She saw her sister cooking with Snow.

"Hey, sis!" Snow chirped, continuing to chop the vegetables.

"I'm not your sister," she grumbled in annoyance.

"Okay, fine. Fair enough…" a slight pause, "hey, Sister in Law!" Snow retorted.

Lightning chuckled, rolling her eyes before washed her hands. "Do you need any help?" She asked. Serah could hear how tired she was.

"Um… no, I think I'm okay, actually. It's almost done. Thirty more minutes, maybe? Vanille will be here soon," Serah answered soon followed by a question. "Why don't you go rest?"

Lightning nodded and yawned. "I think I'll do that… Thank you."

Snow looked behind him. "Go ahead. I'll wake you when dinner is ready, sis."

Lightning sauntered off into the living room and sat down in the recliner. She put the feet up and laid back. She was exhausted. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep; however, she couldn't take her mind off of the murder spree that had been plaguing Bodhum as of late. Normally, she'd stay at the station until late with Drake to work on the cases that had been piling up.

The murders were all the same. Blunt force trauma. Murder weapon was a bat, and no evidence of who did it. There were also the cases of torture, then being dropped off at the docks; multiple cuts all over the body, then a sliced throat with a jagged blade. It was always the women who were tortured, with the men attacked in a dark alley, with a bat to the back of the head.

She hadn't thought of it before, but it was Begum's style. It was either a bat to the head or a bullet to the head, execution style.

She needed to spend the night with her family. She wanted to shield them from the pain, and hurt. And that's what she would do.

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**An Unknown Place  
****0030 Hours**

"Don't be afraid…" He told the woman. She was dirty. Filthy. Tears ran down her face. "You filthy whore… You think you can cheat on your husband and be forgiven for that? That will never happen."

"Please… let me go…" He slid the knife against the back of her neck, and watched the blood flow slowly. "Please… I'm begging you."

"Don't be afraid. Death is your friend… not your enemy. It's a sweet thing, isn't it?"

"Please!" The woman yelled.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled. '_I'm going to take my time with this one…'_

XXXXXXXX

**So there you have it. A sequel. This is going to have a little bit of 'investigative work', If you get what I mean. I was just played FFXIII again and I got some major inspiration. Who do you guys think the man is?**

**I'm sorry for the year delay, guys. I wasn't in a good way. Suffering from major depression sucks. Thankfully… I found someone who takes all that away. Well, that and a hardcore anti-depressant.**

**Also, I'm not too happy with this Prologue. They're also the hardest, in my humble opinion. Prologue's are a bitch… Next chapter out next week. Gonna try to do one chapter every other day, so I'm ahead of schedule. **

**Alright, guys. You know the rules. Review. It'll make me update faster. XD Just kidding. I'm really excited for this sequel. It's more actiony with romance. Same amount of each. **


	2. Haunted

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

**Author's Note: **Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts and favorites from the last chapter. You guys rock.

**A very special thanks to my lovely girlfriend. Love you, Sweetheart.**

As Long As You're There  
Chapter One: Haunted

**"**Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."** – Edgar Allen Poe  
**  
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**Unknown Place  
****Present Time  
****0150 Hours**

"Why are you doing this…?" She asked. "Please, let me go."

He staggered towards the woman and crouched beside her. "Now why would I want to do that? I'm having way too much fun to just let you walk out of here, darlin'."

She shivered as she felt his breath on her. "They're all looking for me. You're not gonna get away with this you... you monster!" She choked out.

He ripped the cover off of her head. He took a deep breath before responding. "Monster? Darlin'... take a long, hard look in the mirror, and you tell me who the monster is." The close proximity between them terrified her - made her even more nervous.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." She took a look around, but could barely see. She'd been in the darkness for too long, her eyes had to adjust. She blinked vigorously. She couldn't tell for sure.

"Oh I'm sure you do!"

"Just stop! They're looking for me, and they won't stop until you're dead!" She spat.

He stood up, still staying by the woman's side. "Then I guess I'll have to make it quick then, won't I?" His mouth curled into a crazed half-smile. "Normally I keep lovely ladies like you for a few hours… have my fun with you before I slice your throat."

The woman felt a tear fall from her eye. "Please..." She whispered. "Please... You don't have to do this..." Quiet sobs came from the woman.

He crouched in front of her and placed a hand under her chin to lift it. She tried to pull away. "Aw, don't cry, this won't hurt one little bit."

He smiled as he dug the jagged knife into her leg. The woman screamed out in pain.

"Oops. Sorry. I lied." He smile twisted into a crooked smile. He pushed the knife further into her leg as he stood up, making her scream in pain once more. He pulled out the knife slowly, making the woman groan. She looked up and watched him run his tongue along the knife. He laughed, and disappeared out of her line of sight.

'Please… please... somebody help me.' She thought to herself. She could feel the blood pour from her leg. She felt the excruciating pain emitting from the fresh knife wound. 'Oh Etro... save me...' She felt weak. The tears that fell stung her eyes.

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**_17 Days Earlier  
_****Bodhum Police Department  
****0730 Hours**

The detective's office was busier than normal. With all the murders that had been happening, they couldn't keep up. They had to hire a few detectives from another precinct in order to just keep up. A murder every other day and no connection between the victims made it difficult to pinpoint who it was. The murderer hadn't left any evidence at the crime scenes. The victims didn't fight back. There were no defensive wounds or –

"Hey, girl," Lightning turned around to see Drake Fisher entering their office with two hot coffees. "You're here earlier than usual."

"Don't call me girl, Detective Fisher. And yeah. I have to present my finding to the Chief. I think I have to interrogate Javier Begum…" Lightning muttered softly. She rubbed her temples. She didn't get sleep the prior night. Her mind was too occupied. Between the murders and worrying for Serah and (surprisingly) Snow, she hardly ever had time for herself. Which was unusual. She normally spent her free time to herself.

"You know the Chief doesn't like you, Lightning," Drake said seriously. "Do you want me to do it?"

"The Chief is going to have to get over that. I've worked my ass off to get to where I'm at and just because he worked 20 years to be detective, doesn't mean he should be a dick."

A few hours passed with the two Detectives going over their findings.

"Hello, Detectives," The Chief said walking into their office. He glared at Lightning. "What do you have for me today?"

"Well, sir, I think we need to interrogate Begum…"

"Why is that?"

"Those murders are his motive. He may be in jail, but has a copycat or a lackie doing his bidding," Drake said, hoping to get Lightning out of that awkward situation.

Lightning spoke up. "If he does have a copycat, it's to the T, sir. All of the murders within the last few months have always been the same. No evidence pinpointing who it is. It's always the same… Either a bat to the skull, or a bullet to the head. No defensive wounds, which indicates either they were knocked out before the fact or they had no reason to fight back. Maybe he surprised them."

"Go ahead and visit Begum. Doubt he'll be any use, however." The Chief stared Lightning down for half a second before turning to Drake. "I have a pending investigation I'd like you to take a look at."

"But, Sir-" Lightning started, but the Chief held up a hand.

The Chief looked at Drake once more. "Do I have your attention, Detective?"

"Yes, Sir." Drake responded.

"Good. See me in my office. Now."

And that was it. Lightning was alone on the case… "Wait, sir, do I at least have another partner?"

"No. We're shorthanded."

"Asshole…" she muttered under her breath as he walked away.

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**Bodhum Regional Penitentiary  
****1300 Hours**

Lightning couldn't get out of her car. Her hands were super glued to the steering wheel. What was she doing? She was doing this for her family. Serah and Snow had been scared to walk alone, with or without each other. They had been worried. They felt safer having Lightning around. They spent nights and days at Lightning's house. Sure, they had a security system but anyone could hack those. The police wouldn't arrive quick enough…

She didn't mind that they stayed over. Hell, even Lightning felt safer with them there. She didn't want to lose Serah… Her job gave her the skills and security to keep Serah safe for years… And she hated to admit it, but she was glad Fang wasn't there. She didn't want Fang getting hurt.

Then something hit her. She didn't even want Snow getting hurt. '_Wow… I've changed so much…'_ She thought to herself. Drake had a big part of that. Drake wouldn't take her bullshit. He'd throw it right back at her. Lightning actually felt… human.

She really didn't want to meet Begum… her thoughts kept her procrastinating. Flashbacks of her getting nearly blown to bits kept her from opening that door…. She looked at the files lying on the passenger's seat. "For fucks sake…" She grabbed the file and hurried out of the car. She needed to get it over with. And it needed to be now.

Upon stepping inside, she was immediately checked for weapons. She reluctantly gave them up and gave them her badge. "Ah, here to talk to Begum, right?" asked the officer. "Well, good luck. He's been giving us lots of trouble."

"I can imagine," Lightning said as the officer ushered her towards the door. "How much security will be around me?"

"I'll be there, as well as three others on the other side of the door," the older man said. "We've been dealing with Begum for over a year. We're used to it."

"Great…" Lightning and the four officers entered the visitation room. She saw Begum.

Staring at her.

She felt her breath hitch. "You okay, Detective?"

"Yeah."

The older officer held the door open for her.

"Ah, Ms. Farron. How are those burns on your legs? And your shoulder? Still favoring it?" Begum smirked. His orange jumpsuit did not suit him well. It made him look even more sinister.

Lightning took in a deep breath. "I'm not here to make acquaintances, Begum. I'm here on a case, which I'm sure you know exactly about."

"Oh? And what makes you think I have anything to do with it?" He lifted his hands and rattled the chains that kept him at his distance. "How could I possibly be in two places at once, Claire?"

She shuddered. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh I know a lot about you, Ms. Farron. It's where to begin that I'm unsure of." He smiled a half crooked smile. She watched him, just as he watched her. "Well maybe let's start here… I know you have a younger sister, who's married to a security guard at the bank near the beach, right by your friend who runs the bar. I also know about that Fang character… what is she now? Your ex? She ruined you when she left, didn't she?"

Lightning gritted her teeth. How did he know so much about her and her friends? Honestly… she was scared. Terrified. "That's enough."

"Oh," He smirked, "but I haven't even broken the veil yet, my dear Claire."

Lightning glared at him while he continued to unravel her life before her. She slammed her hands on the table before her and stood up. "That's enough, Begum!"

"Oh, sorry. Did I touch a nerve?

"I just want to know who your lackie is. Who's been committing all these murderers these last few months?" Lightning asked as she put three pictures of the latest victims on the table before him. "Do you know who did this?" She asked slowly. She did not want to be there. She really didn't.

"Ah…" He looked at the pictures slowly and smiled. "No. I don't."

"You lying sack of shit…"

"Detective… You don't know me very well. I can make your life hell. In an instant. In the snap of my fingers, a few friends of mine will come and take your whole family away from you. Do you want that detective?"

Lightning's breath hitched in her throat as he threatened her family. "You won't be able to touch them."

"You don't know that, Detective Farron. I have connections. You don't know what I'm capable of," he paused, looking her over. "God, I wish I could have had you to myself. I was going to but I was having more fun watching you fuck that Fang girl."

"You were stalking me?"

"Not stalking per say. It was more like… observing."

"Right… You need to tell me who's doing these murders. Maybe I can get you off death row."

"You really think that's going to make me tell you? I'm almost dead in here anyway. Ten months and I'm dead. All my secrets are dying with me. You should join me…"

Lightning stood up, collecting her files. "You have connections, yes, but if they ever lay a hand on me or my family… I'll kill you myself, you son of a bitch."

"I'm looking forward to it…"

XXXXXXXX

**Lightning's Apartment  
****0030 Hours**

Lightning went straight to the bar after work. She didn't drink alcohol. She left that part of her life behind her a year ago. She just needed to talk to Lebreau… She needed to talk to talk to someone. When Lightning told Lebreau, all she said was, "I'll kill those SOB's who come in here. They can't touch me. I'll kick their asses."

Lightning set her files on her coffee table and kicked her boots off. The hot summer night was kept at bay by her cooling conditioner. She felt comfortable. At ease. When she stepped into the kitchen, she set her security alarm. She grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen and went back into the living room.

She wouldn't get much sleep. She knew that much. She had the windows locked up tight. It was a habit. Ever since the mass murdering spree.

Seeing Begum in person nearly put her over the edge. She would normally drink her memories of the day away. But that person's gone. Had been since Fang left a year ago…

She missed Fang. Quite a bit. But both have moved on with their lives. Fang had a good paying job thousands of miles away, while Lightning was 345 days sober. She hadn't had a drop of alcohol since Fang transferred to Nautilus. She was getting better as the days went by. She only hoped to see Fang. To prove to Fang that she'd changed.

Turning on the television, she decided to get lost in something to take her mind off of the day – especially her interrogation.

The news… Too depressing.

Soap Opera's remind her too much of the ordeal from a year ago.

Comedy wasn't funny to her.

A documentary. Perfect. No Drama, no comedy, and no news. Just plain boring.

It was going to be a long night, but that was exactly what she needed.

XXXX

**Lightning's Dream**

_Fang couldn't stop staring at Lightning. She had changed, that's for sure. But Fang couldn't help staring, for Lightning's beauty would shine through the darkest days. Lightning caught Fang's eye, and blushed at the eye contact. Fang couldn't help but grin at how adorable she was, as well as beautiful. She staggered through the crowd to get to Lightning. But when she got through, she saw Lightning that had moved._

_'Now where'd she go..?' Fang thought to herself. She looked above the crowd. Being as tall as she was, this was easy. She caught sight of Lightning's long gorgeous locks. She didn't take her eyes off of her and pushed through the crowd once more._

_"Lightning, wait!" She yelled, but the music was too loud. "Dammit." She cursed to herself. She followed Lightning outside. "Lightning, hey. I'm so-" and before she could finish her sentence, she was pinned against the wall. "Well, if I'd have known I was gonna get this 'welcome back' from ya, I'd have been back sooner." Fang grinned._

_"Don't speak. Just kiss me."_

_"Mm, not here though." Fang grinned._

"And you're still the tease I've always known you as." She couldn't help but smile back.

_Fang's grin widened. "So.. your place or mine?"_

_"Neither. Let's get a room at a hotel." Lightning moved to Fang's ear, nibbling her lobe before whispering, "That way, no one we know will hear you screaming my name, over and over and over..." She pulled away slightly and kisses Fang's neck._

_Fang's body shivered. "Bloody hell, you really know how to get a woman going."_

_"Yeah, and I plan on keeping her going." She said as she pushed her leg between Fang's legs._

_"O-k-ay! Hotel. Now." Fang ordered._

_"Yes, ma'am." Lightning winked._

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**So here you go, guys. I actually got this out pretty quick. One chapter a week. But if I manage to write more than that, I'm going to post 2. My girl keeps me on my toes when it comes to updating. So here you have it. **

**What do you guys think? Fang will be coming here pretty soon. I gotta work my way up to it. Sorry! **


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